The first time I rolled a batch of these, I burnt my thumb on the tray pulling them out too early because I couldn’t wait for the wrappers to blister. That colour is the whole point. You want the edges gone golden and papery, the way pastry does when the oven has been kind to it, with the coriander steaming green and sharp underneath.
Ocean trout is one of those fish I keep coming back to in early autumn. The flesh is coral-pink and buttery, softer than salmon but with the same generous fattiness, and it holds up beautifully to a hot oven without drying to string. Wrapped with cool shredded cabbage, ribbons of pickled ginger and snapped asparagus, it turns into something that eats light but feels like a treat.
These ocean trout spring rolls are baked, not deep-fried. There’s no wok of oil to babysit, no smell that clings to the curtains for two days, no greasy aftertaste on the fingers. What you get instead is a crisp shell that shatters cleanly and a filling that stays juicy, which is exactly the balance I chase whenever I cook fish in a hurry. If you like your fish done gently, you might also enjoy our poached salmon with fennel for a slower, quieter dinner.
A quick word on the fish before you start. Ask your fishmonger to skin the fillet and run a hand over it for pin bones, then slice it lengthways into strips roughly the width of your little finger. Too thick and they won’t cook through in the short bake; too thin and they fall apart in the rolling. I lay the strips out on a plate in the fridge while I shred the cabbage, because cold fish is far easier to handle than fish that has warmed up on the bench.
Ingredients
Makes 20
- 20 spring roll wrappers
- 1 chinese cabbage, finely shredded
- 750 g Huon Ocean Trout or Salmon fillet, cut into strips
- 50 g pickled ginger
- 350 g asparagus, cut in half
- 1/2 bunch fresh coriander (cilantro) chopped
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas 6). Place the spring roll wrappers on a dry work surface. Put some shredded cabbage on the bottom corner of each wrapper and arrange the fish, ginger, asparagus and coriander over the cabbage.
- Start rolling the wrapper from the bottom corner over the filling and continue rolling until you are halfway up. Fold in the left and right hand sides to enclose the filling and then roll up to the top.
- Put the rolls on a baking tray and lightly brush with egg white. Bake for about 15 mintues.
Serves: Makes 20 rolls, enough for lunch for a crowd or an entree at a dinner for eight to ten.
Nutrition per roll: Energy 371 kj (89 Cals); Protein: 10 g; Total Fat: 2 g; Carbohydrate: 8 g; Fibre: 1 g; Sodium: 72 mg.
A few notes from the rolling table
Keep your stack of wrappers under a slightly damp tea towel while you work. They dry out and crack the moment they meet the air, and a torn wrapper leaks its filling all over the tray. Work with one at a time, and don’t overfill. A tablespoon or so of cabbage and a couple of strips of everything else is plenty. The first two rolls of any batch always look a bit sad and lumpy; by the fifth your hands find the rhythm and they start looking like the ones in the photo.
The egg white does more than glaze. Brushed along the final edge it glues the seam shut, and painted over the top it helps the wrapper take on that lacquered, biscuity colour in the oven. Set each finished roll seam-side down so it can’t unravel while it bakes.
Serving, make-ahead and a few gentle variations
I like these warm, ten minutes out of the oven, with a small bowl of nothing more than lime wedges and a scatter of extra coriander. A soy and rice-vinegar dip is lovely if you want one, though the pickled ginger already carries plenty of brightness through the roll. For a lunch, I’ll pile three or four onto a plate with a heap of undressed leaves and let people squeeze their own lime.
They make wonderful party food because you can assemble ahead. Roll the whole batch in the morning, sit them seam-side down on a lined tray, cover and keep them in the fridge, then brush with egg white and bake just before your guests arrive. Cold cabbage straight from the fridge actually helps the rolls hold their shape, and there’s real comfort in having a tray ready to slide into the oven while everyone is still finding a seat.
Once you have the method in your hands, the filling is yours to play with as the seasons turn. Swap the asparagus for thin batons of carrot or snow pea when asparagus is out of season, fold in a little finely shredded silverbeet, or thread through a few strips of spring onion. A squeeze of lime through the filling wakes the whole thing up, and a pinch of white pepper suits the trout nicely. Oily fish like ocean trout brings omega-3 fats and good protein to the table, which the folks at Better Health Victoria flag as a reason to keep fish on the weekly menu, and Nutrition Australia is a good place to read more on building balanced plates around it.
If you’re cooking your way through more of our seafood, our thai fish cakes and bbq whole fish with coriander both lean on the same fresh, herb-forward flavours, and there’s a whole recipe collection to wander through when you want something new.
One small confession: I always roll a few extra fat ones just for the cook, because the offcut strips of trout never quite make it into the tray. Consider it a kitchen tax, paid gladly, standing at the bench before anyone else has smelled what’s coming.
— Mei Lin, Golden Door Living kitchen
